Chapter 91 Qiao Yanyu's work ethic and dedication were well-known throughout the entire Countermeasures Bureau, because she worked incredibly hard…
Qiao Yanyu's workaholic nature was well-known throughout the Countermeasures Bureau. She was the first person the director had ordered to take leave for working too hard. Sometimes, she would even take on two tasks at the same time.
Such hardworking laborers are rare even in ordinary companies, let alone in the Countermeasures Bureau. Anyone who sees her would find her strange.
Wang Yu had interacted with Qiao Yanyu before, and at the time she thought Qiao Yanyu was an oddball. She was conscientious, responsible, efficient, and willing to work; Wang Yu shouldn't dislike someone like that. But Wang Yu just couldn't bring herself to like Qiao Yanyu.
Even if they greet him with a smile and say "Hello, Senior Qiao," they'll still whisper to others behind his back, "Oh dear, I saw that guy today, the very famous Senior Qiao in our department. Seriously, Senior Qiao seems really unapproachable."
Yes, cold and unapproachable—that was Wang Yu's impression of Qiao Yanyu.
Qiao Yanyu's eyebrows sometimes furrowed unconsciously. She didn't have much expression to begin with, and when she frowned, she seemed even more aloof. But she wasn't the kind of person who was cold and unapproachable; it was just that her expression was too rigid and serious, making her seem difficult to get along with.
But recently, Qiao Yanyu seems to have changed.
Her eyebrows still furrowed unconsciously, rarely relaxing, especially when she was reviewing mission intelligence; they were so tightly knit they could trap a mosquito. The way she hunched over her books made those around her hold their breath.
However, she also smiled more often.
She really has changed, especially when she's with He Zhao. Her smile comes on without her even realizing it, just like how her lips would unconsciously turn up slightly when she used to frown. Wang Yu didn't think Qiao Yanyu was a person who liked to smile. Although she hadn't had much contact with Qiao Yanyu before, she had never seen Qiao Yanyu smile.
Now it's different. She always has that gentle smile on her face. It seems that when she's with He Zhao, Qiao Yanyu has become more like a person.
She really has become more like a human being, on a physical level. Wang Yu used to think Qiao Yanyu was like a robot, a workaholic drudge. The current Qiao Yanyu is much easier to get along with than before. This feeling is actually quite strange, like the illusion that a ghost next to you has suddenly turned into a living person.
However, for Qiao Yanyu, this is indeed a good thing.
Such a huge change—if it weren't because she genuinely liked someone and couldn't help but smile when she saw her, Wang Yu really wouldn't know what the reason was—it couldn't really be just a friendship, could it? Wang Yu didn't believe it; she firmly believed that a true friendship was like the one between her and He Zhao.
Although He Zhao may not admit that she is his best friend.
When Qiao Yanyu was being stubborn and didn't want to say she liked him, Wang Yu understood even more clearly that she had fallen in love, and it was definitely not just a friendship.
The problem is that Qiao Yanyu's blockhead hasn't figured things out yet. Just as she thought before, He Zhao definitely has feelings for Qiao Yanyu too, but Wang Yu doesn't know why, neither Qiao Yanyu nor He Zhao says anything.
She still didn't understand Lei Zi's inner turmoil, thinking it was just a small matter. Wang Yu wanted to talk to her, but didn't know what to say. After a while, Wang Yu finally found a way to speak and suddenly said, "I like He Zhao too."
As a result, Qiao Yanyu remained silent for a long time. Wang Yu glanced at her in the rearview mirror and noticed that Qiao Yanyu's complexion had worsened... Could it be that she had said something wrong?
From that moment on, the atmosphere inside the minivan became extremely tense, and no one uttered a single word the entire way. Finally arriving at the hospital, Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief. She and the medical staff helped Qiao Yanyu back to her ward, casually saying, "Then I won't come tomorrow when the boss comes."
One sentence actually made Qiao Yanyu's expression improve a little.
"..."
Wang Yu said goodbye to the person and left with Hua Hua. She still had the heavy responsibility of returning Hua Hua to her, so she couldn't rest that night.
Unbeknownst to Wang Yu, after she left, Qiao Yanyu, alone in the hospital room, was lost in thought. Most importantly, she couldn't understand why she couldn't bring herself to say she liked He Zhao. She asked herself honestly, didn't she like He Zhao?
How could that be? If she didn't like her, why would she be so concerned about He Zhao, and why would she feel so happy just being with her? Don't worry, she genuinely likes He Zhao.
"like……"
Hiding under the covers, Qiao Yanyu finally uttered those words in the dead of night. In the quiet room, she almost didn't notice them coming out. Qiao Yanyu subconsciously raised her hand and touched her lips; she felt her face burning, simply because of the word "like."
Why do I feel... a little shy? I can't easily express this feeling to anyone. Qiao Yanyu was a little envious of how smoothly Hua Hua and Wang Yu were able to speak, and she didn't understand why she couldn't say it no matter what.
She even felt that those two people could easily tell her the word "like" in front of He Zhao, while she could never do it.
Qiao Yanyu tossed and turned, unsure whether she couldn't sleep because she'd slept too much during the day, or because she was trapped by her own thoughts. In any case, she was suffering from insomnia.
Unlike Qiao Yanyu and the busy Wang Yu, He Zhao took a hot shower after returning home and then lay down on the bed, ready to fall into a deep sleep. Before going to sleep, she couldn't help but wonder: Had Qiao Yanyu not showered for the past few days? She had gone straight to the hospital after her battle that day and hadn't showered since.
He Zhao thought for a while, then covered his head with the blanket and went to sleep.
When she woke up in the morning, she vaguely remembered some indescribable things in her dream. However, she didn't do anything wrong; she just wiped Qiao Yanyu's body. He Zhao was very tempted by this, but as a lesbian, she definitely couldn't do that; doing so would be taking advantage of Qiao Yanyu.
He Zhao decided to ask a nurse later to help him call a caregiver to help him clean up; he really couldn't do it himself.
He Zhao went to the market and bought a chicken and some vegetables, planning to make chicken and vegetable soup today. After finishing, she took the food to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, He Zhao subtly brought up the matter, asking Qiao Yanyu if it would be alright.
Qiao Yanyu naturally thought there was no problem, and even breathed a sigh of relief when she heard that it wasn't He Zhao who helped her wipe her body.
After the request was relayed to the nurse, she entered the ward, glanced around, and bluntly said, "You're both women, and the hospital is short-staffed right now. Miss Qiao, your friend can help you. It's just a matter of wiping her body down, making sure the wound doesn't get wet. Besides, she has a cast on her leg and gauze on her forehead, so it's basically just a simple wash. It's certainly uncomfortable not being able to shower for a long time, but it's a special circumstance, so please understand."
"Huh? No!"
The nurse didn't give them time to argue; she seemed quite busy and quickly left. He Zhao was left sweating profusely, unsure how to react to Qiao Yanyu. She was now filled with regret for saying such a thing; now she was the one suffering the consequences.
She didn't think wiping Qiao Yanyu's body was anything erotic. If this scene appeared in some male-oriented novels, the male protagonist would definitely be unwilling but also very proactive in wiping her. But He Zhao just felt that having Qiao Yanyu wiped by her without her knowing her sexual orientation was equivalent to being groped.
He Zhao genuinely rejected this kind of thing.
If Qiao Yanyu were her lover, then doing this for her would be absolutely the right thing to do. Besides, Qiao Yanyu didn't seem to really want her to wipe her body; she was just a little shy.
But Qiao Yanyu herself didn't know how to refute it. Last night, she couldn't even say "I like you" behind He Zhao's back, so how could she let He Zhao help her clean up now? No way, absolutely not!
At that moment, both of them silently blamed Wang Yu in their hearts: It's all Wang Yu's fault! If only Wang Yu were here right now! If she were here, this awkward situation wouldn't have happened!
Compared to the speechless Qiao Yanyu, He Zhao was more articulate: "Sister Qiao... well, about wiping your body, how about we let Wang Yu do it?" She even made an excuse for herself, saying, "I'm careless, I'm afraid I'll hurt you."
Qiao Yanyu nodded somewhat awkwardly: "Okay...it's nothing."
Because of this little incident, it was a bit awkward to take a nap in the afternoon. He Zhao had been more relaxed these past two days and was able to get closer to Qiao Yanyu. But today, he went back to his original situation of curling up on the edge of the bed to sleep.
When He Zhao woke up in the afternoon, he greeted Qiao Yanyu and said goodbye.
On the way, He Zhao suddenly had a breakthrough in his mind and couldn't understand it no matter how he thought about it: it was one thing for him not to agree to wipe Qiao Yanyu's body, but from her perspective, it seemed perfectly legitimate. He was Lei Zi, after all, so it was definitely inconvenient for him to wipe a woman's body.
If Qiao Yanyu found out about this later, wouldn't she feel disgusted with herself?
But why, Qiao Yanyu?
He Zhao racked her brains but still couldn't figure out the reason. She even asked the system, "Why won't Sister Qiao let me help her wipe her body?" He Zhao could tell from Qiao Yanyu's behavior that it was because she was shy, but that didn't fit Qiao Yanyu's character.
The dashing Qiao Yanyu would feel shy because a woman was wiping her body? That sounds like a fantasy.
Even He Zhao couldn't understand it, so how could the system possibly know? [I'm sorry, I don't understand human emotions.]
He Zhao started muttering to himself, "Do you think it's possible that Sister Qiao isn't completely indifferent to me? She gets shy when I wipe her body, so maybe she doesn't actually consider me a friend... Maybe Sister Qiao is a lesbian too!"
By the end, He Zhao's eyes lit up. She didn't have a "Reiko radar" (a device that detects Reiko's identity), so she couldn't tell the difference herself, but Qiao Yanyu could also be Reiko!
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